“Isn’t it a little early to be imbibing?”
Ryder wasn’t sure whether or not he was surprised when Daniel sat down next to him on the garden bench with two dark glass bottles and a long, thin parcel. It had been over a fortnight since Viv had left, and he’d done little more than walk out to the bench, sit, and let the restlessness consume him.
Only it didn’t.
He’d spent so much time running from it, he’d never thought to wonder what might happen if he just stopped.
He was surprised to find nothing did, in fact, happen.
The restlessness was there; he could sense it just off the horizon. But it wasn’t the endless clawing he had felt for more than a year. It was almost as if he’d very nearly figured something out.
Only…what was it?
If it was Viv, he was damned unlucky, because he’d gone and let her go. No, worse than that—he’d driven her away.
He sometimes liked to think of her in London and pretend she was happy. He’d done what was best, so why didn’t he feel better about it?
“I know you pretend to be a rogue and all that suggests, but I know you are secretly a kind and caring person.” With the parcel in his lap, Daniel set the bottles on the ground so he could tuck his hands into his coat pockets as the day was bright but chilly.
“Dear God, have you started without me?” Ryder eyed the two large bottles at Daniel’s feet.
“I also know you know the name of each and every one of your servants.”
Ryder raised an eyebrow and looked his friend in the face for the first time. “What is this about?”
“I’m courting Sarah Walker.”
Ryder leaned back and clutched a dramatic hand to his chest.
“My upstairs maid? Well, why on this earth are you doing that? You’re going to put me in a position which will require me to find a new upstairs maid, aren’t you?” Ryder shook his head. “Mrs. Olds will not be pleased.”
Daniel laughed. “I don’t find I care very much for Mrs. Olds’s thoughts on the subject.”
“So my servants are spreading rumors that I’ve turned into a brooding monster, is that it?”
Daniel frowned. “Your servants care about you and have confided your recent state of affairs to a friend who they felt might be able to help you.”
Ryder’s chest twisted uneasily as gratitude welled up inside of him. He’d forgotten what it was like to have friends. He tapped the long, thin parcel Daniel still held in his lap.
“And this?”
Without ceremony, Daniel lifted the lid from the parcel revealing a bed of midnight blue velvet on top of which was nestled the finest cane Ryder had ever seen.
“My father carved the shaft. He’s picked up a bit of a hobby with wood since leaving the estate. But I inserted a core of steel, so it’s light yet strong.” He lifted the cane from the box deftly with two fingers as if it weighed nothing at all. He spun it in the air to give Ryder the top.
Ryder could only stare for several seconds. He had seen many fine things in his travels. Exquisite, unique items crafted lovingly by skilled artisans. But he had never seen anything like this.
The top of the cane was a ball of polished jet set on a crown of molded silver that extended down the top of the cane by a couple of inches. But there was a break in the silver cuff where a small strip of steel wrapped around like a band.
Ryder took the cane and tilted it so he could see the band better.
“It’s from your phaeton.”
Ryder looked up sharply, eyeing his friend.
“They brought the wreckage back for salvage, and this piece came from one of the wheels.” Daniel tapped the slim band of steel. “I thought perhaps you might wish for something on which to reflect from this time in your life.”
Ryder had no words, so he traced the lines of the silverwork as it wound its way to the ball of jet. Finally, he took the cane in both of his hands, setting the bottom to the ground.
“Thank you.” The words came out softer than he had intended, but his throat had closed itself against further speech.
They sat like that for several minutes. The sound of the wind whistling through the budding trees, the scamper of some woodland creature, and the call of the sea birds along the coast the only sound. If he drew a deep enough breath, he could almost smell the ocean from here.
Almost.
“Why did you let her go, mate?” Daniel finally said, his voice crisp with concern.
Ryder palmed the cane.
“It was the right thing to do,” he decided to say.
“It was the right thing to do?” Daniel laughed. “If it were the right thing, why do you look as though I’ve forced you to drive a coach and four?”
Ryder looked up from the cane. “I’ve driven a coach and four. I don’t recommend it. Do you realize how tedious those things can be?”
“They are not meant to be raced.” Daniel’s eyebrows went up in concern.
Ryder could only smirk. “Everything can be raced. It’s only a matter of imagination.”
“Dear God, I’m starting to see how it was for the best.”
What little elation he had managed at seeing the cane his friend had made for him vanished at the reminder of Viv’s absence.
Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, mate. I truly am. Are you sure there’s no hope of making amends?”
Ryder cut him a glance. “Why do you think I must make amends? Perhaps she’s the one who’s done something wrong.”
Daniel shook his head. “Sarah became quite close with your wife’s lady’s maid while she was here. They’ve even taken to exchanging letters. I hear there’s to be a ball in London tonight for the youngest sister’s season. Quite a big to-do from what I hear. You would not look like this if you were not drowning in your own guilt, and your lady wife wouldn’t be throwing a ball.”
“I’ll have you know I look remarkably well today. I’ve even dressed myself.” He brushed the front of his jacket as if to emphasize his point.
So Viv had already put together a ball for Jo. He wasn’t surprised by her efficiency, and he couldn’t help the smile the thought brought to his lips.
Daniel’s face fell. “Does that mean you haven’t always been getting out of bed?”
Ryder shrugged. “What’s the point?”
Daniel set aside the bottom of the cane box and crossed his arms. “I should say there’s many points. You’ve got Margate to care for and the hops to—”
“The ruined hops?” Ryder scratched the back of his neck in irritation. “I’ll be lucky if I’m ever able to bring them back.” He stared off in the distance as if seeing the hops fields before him.
Daniel followed his line of sight before saying, “Tell me the truth, friend. What happened? Surely there can be a way to make it all right.”
“She’s in love, Daniel.” Hearing himself say the words sent a pang through his chest, and Ryder rubbed at the spot as if to make it stop.
Daniel sucked in a breath. “She told you that? That she loves another man?”
“No, you daft idiot. She’s in love with me.”
Daniel canted his head. “I’m afraid I fail to see how this is an issue.”
Ryder pushed to his feet, using the cane to help him stand. His newly healed leg was getting stronger every day, but he felt more confident having the support under his hand. And it was a good deal more manly than that purple monstrosity he’d been sacked with.
“Because I don’t love her in return.” The words sliced through him, and he staggered, clutching the top of the cane. He whirled to face his friend still on the bench. “I trapped her here with my injury as an excuse. I thought—” He swallowed. “I thought she could distract me from the horrible sense that I’ve accomplished nothing in my life.” He stepped forward, his earnestness driving him. “I had to let her go. I couldn’t pretend to feel something I don’t, and I couldn’t keep her here because she believed my lies.”
Daniel blinked. “You seduced her.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, but he couldn’t say anything more as Daniel seemed to work out the rest.
“You seduced her for your own reasons and then found yourself in love.” He shook his head. “No wonder you’re in a terrible state.”
Ryder blinked. “I beg your pardon.”
Daniel smiled. “Of course you love her. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be feeling this way right now.”
Ryder shook his head. “You don’t understand. It’s not love that I feel. I was merely—”
Lying to himself?
The restlessness that he sometimes went days without feeling now. The restlessness that he forgot for hours at a time. The restlessness that he knew he was so very close to solving.
Without Viv.
Viv wasn’t the answer to his restlessness. She wasn’t a distraction at all.
She had been…well, what really?
He sat back down, his mind awash with thoughts that refused to fit together.
“You were merely what?” Daniel prompted.
But Ryder could only shake his head. “I don’t know.”
He cast his mind back on those first days when he felt the restlessness eating at him. Every day he heard news of a man making a mark on this world, and every day he raced another race, drank another drink, bedded another woman.
But not anymore.
And Viv had nothing to do with it.
He looked down at Daniel’s feet where he’d set the dark bottles.
“Did you bring that for looks or for drinking?”
Daniel bent and picked up one of the bottles. “I thought you said it was too early.”
Ryder reached for the bottle and, bracing the cane between his knees, used both hands to pry loose the metal bands that held the lid tightly to the neck. He put the bottle to his lips and tilted his head back for a long, deep swallow.
He let the ale run down his throat in great, refreshing gulps until the taste flooded his mouth and hit his senses. He pulled the bottle away with a cough, staring at it.
“Hell’s teeth, Daniel. Where did you get this?”
Daniel stared at the second bottle he now held in his hand. “I made it. Why? Has it gone off?”
Ryder placed a hand on his friend’s arm. “You made this?”
Daniel nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Where did you get the hops?”
“From the cottage garden. Years ago my father gave me some of the discarded hops to replant, and I—” Daniel stopped speaking at the same time the thoughts finally connected in Ryder’s brain.
Daniel swallowed and looked at his friend. “I have the hops in my garden, Ryder.”
“You have the hops to save Margate.” For the first time in what felt like years, Ryder smiled and meant it.
He stood so quickly he forgot his need of a cane and tumbled forward. Daniel caught him neatly and held him upright.
“I have the hops that can save Margate,” Daniel repeated, his own smile plastered across his face. “I must see if there’s enough. We’ll need to be careful if we are to sow an entire field from it this year.”
Ryder shook his head, forgetting his hands were still on Daniel’s shoulders. He simply couldn’t let go of his friend for the excitement.
“This year will be a small crop to test the soil and make some sample batches to share with potential brewers. We’ll need your father to help us.”
“Us?” Daniel blinked as if coming awake. “I’m the blacksmith. I can’t bloody well—”
Ryder shook his head. “You’ll be a silent partner if you wish. Your work as a blacksmith is remarkable, and I shouldn’t want you to give it up. But if you wish, I’d love to have you as my partner, in truth.”
Daniel shook his head. “I can’t just leave—”
“I’ll have a cottage built on the estate for you and Sarah, and then maybe I won’t lose my upstairs maid and be forced to listen to Mrs. Olds lament either.”
Ryder’s lungs burned for air as he watched his friend. He didn’t know how much this meant to him, his friend agreeing to the partnership, until he thought he might be sick with the anxiety.
Daniel tried to object once more, but his smile had grown too big. “Well, I should demand ten percent of the profits if we are to use my hops.”
Ryder laughed. “Ten percent? You’re my partner, you bloody idiot. It’s fifty percent or nothing.”
Daniel’s face went pale. “Partners?”
Ryder was not so far out of touch to understand what such a thing would do for Daniel Stoker. He would no longer be a village blacksmith. He would be a merchant now and a wealthy one if Ryder had anything to do with it.
“Partners.” Ryder finally let go of Daniel’s shoulders to extend his hand.
Daniel took it, his eyes still wide.
“Partners,” he said again as if trying out the word for the first time.
“Partners.” Ryder pulled the man in for a tight hug and a slap on the back. “Now then,” he said, snatching up the cane from where it had fallen at his feet. “I’ll need to borrow that phaeton you acquired.”
Daniel’s eyebrows shot up. “Whatever for?”
Ryder had already turned in the direction of the house. “I need to get to London.”
“Don’t you have a carriage?” Daniel called after him.
“A carriage won’t do.”
“Why ever not? London’s at least a two day’s ride.”
Ryder turned, a smirk already on his lips. “Because I plan to be there by nightfall.”
She wore her finest emerald silk gown, but it might as well have been a flour sack for all she cared.
She shook her head. This wasn’t about her. Tonight was about Jo.
Ravenwood House sparkled with all the preparations she had put into tonight, and Viv knew it would be a smashing success. Jo would be launched into what Viv sincerely hoped was her little sister’s last season. And then Viv’s work would be complete.
How dreadful.
When she’d set herself on this path to see her sisters wed, she had never understood that at some point she would be finished. At some point, they must all be wed. And then what was she to do?
She really must stop doing this to herself. She drew a deep breath and snatched a champagne flute from a passing footman.
She simply must stop thinking about Ryder.
He had made it perfectly clear just exactly what she was to him. It was her fault for falling in love with him.
Again.
Hadn’t she learned?
She took a sip of the champagne and cast her eyes about the room.
Only to have her gaze land directly on the Kingsley widow.
Viv’s stomach turned, and a sour taste filled her mouth. She made to turn away and stopped.
What had Ryder called her?
His brazen siren.
She squared her shoulders and turned back, plowing through the crowd until she reached the dowager countess.
“Your Grace,” the woman cooed, dipping her head in greeting, a patently false smile showing her white teeth.
“Ryder never pounded you into a piano,” Viv stated.
The space around her went utterly silent.
The gaggle of women the countess had been speaking to shared similar looks of astonishment.
The countess stammered out a noise that might have been a defense. “I beg your pardon.” Her eyes had gone wide, spittle collecting at the corners of her mouth.
“You claimed that my husband pounded you into the keyboard of a piano with such vigor it required the restringing of the middle C. I assure you he did not.”
The dowager countess swept her eyes back and forth. “Are you calling me a liar, Your Grace?”
Viv shrugged. “Yes.”
The dowager countess gasped. “What nerve.”
Viv gestured as if it were nothing. “Your mistake was in thinking I wouldn’t ask my husband.” She said the word with enough force to cause the woman to remember her place.
The dowager countess snapped her mouth shut, casting her eyes to the floor.
The gaggle of women surrounding them drew a collective breath.
Viv fluttered her fingers at the countess. “I do hope you enjoy the ball. It looks like it’s to be a crush.”
She sauntered away, downing the rest of her champagne in a single gulp. If society thought her too bold or too brazen, so be it.
It was her bravery that had secured her the man she loved even if she meant nothing to him, that had to count for something, and she was damned if she was going to let a bunch of gossiping harpies tell her who she was supposed to be.
The evening was a crush by anyone’s standards, and Viv eyed each of the more eligible bachelors she had ensured would be in attendance, feeling the power of triumph coursing through her veins.
There were a couple of earls and a few viscounts. Jo could have her pick.
If she ever deigned to accept a dance from any of them.
She watched her sister hold court at the side of the dance floor. Not once did Jo extend the wrist that held her dance card. Viv stepped forward to go speak with her, but a hand closed over her arm.
“Louisa is going.”
Viv looked over to find Eliza standing beside her, her lips curved in a soft knowing smile.
“I wasn’t going to—”
“You forced the Jilted Duke to dance with me, Viv. I can’t imagine Jo would be keen on seeing you approach.”
Viv handed her now empty champagne flute to another footman.
“And wasn’t I right about that?” Viv tried to hide her smile, but it was hard when her sister’s love for her husband was so clear on her face.
The pain returned with an added flourish, and she swallowed and looked away.
Eliza touched her arm again. “I know you said you’ve told us everything that happened at Margate, but I can’t help but think maybe it wasn’t everything. It must have been hard to see him, Viv.”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t difficult at all. He was indisposed most of the time. I was simply there to ensure his needs were met. Don’t you think Jo looks lovely in that gown? I had it—”
“Is she continuing to deny anything happened with Margate?” This from Louisa as she appeared through the crowd.
“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Viv reached forward to take Louisa’s shoulders and steer her toward a chair, but Eliza intercepted.
“Do you see what I mean?” Eliza raised an eyebrow, and Viv dropped her hands.
“I do. Louisa, how are you?”
“Fat.” Louisa giggled at her pronouncement. “Any day now I assure you this little one will make its debut.”
Viv’s smile was genuine even as her heart ached. Her sisters were so beautiful with their heads bent together speaking of babies and husbands and swollen ankles.
“I hope mine do not swell as much as yours this time,” Eliza said.
“Well, I should—” Louisa stopped on the word.
Viv leaned forward and gripped Eliza’s elbow. “You’re expecting again?” she whispered, the pain of the last few weeks freezing in anticipation of what Eliza might say.
But Eliza only smiled.
And then she nodded.
Viv didn’t give a fig about decorum and pulled her sister into a tight hug as Louisa flailed her arms uselessly in front of her, her stomach too round to get her arms around anything.
Eliza took pity on her and gave her a squeeze from the side.
“Another little one. Just think of holidays now with the children underfoot. How splendid!” Louisa cooed.
Eliza laughed. “Splendid? I should think it shall be quite tiring.”
Louisa laughed along with her sister, but Viv couldn’t force herself to do so.
“Viv.” Louisa stopped laughing, her eyes riveted to Viv’s face.
Had the tears come to her eyes? She didn’t think they had. She thought she was holding it quite nicely together. If she couldn’t laugh, at least she could pretend—
“Oh my,” Eliza breathed, and Viv realized they weren’t looking at her.
They were looking slightly behind her.
Jo appeared from what seemed the air itself, thrusting her body between two gossiping debutantes, and then pushing herself between her sisters until she stood in front of…
In front of Viv.
Viv looked around. “What is going on?”
“I swear to God if he hurts you,” Jo muttered.
“He who? Jo, straighten your shoulders. Look what you’ve done to your coiffure. You must look—”
She saw what her sisters had seen moments earlier.
Ryder.
Standing just inside the ballroom.
He wasn’t dressed for a ball, though. He wore black breeches tucked into tall boots, his greatcoat dusty and swirling about him as he strode into the crowd. Gentlemen made way while ladies craned their necks to see him better.
He’d come after her.
The thought was like exploding light inside of her, illuminating all the places that had been so dark and cold. Ryder was here. He’d finally come after her.
A touch on her arm and she saw Eliza’s smiling face.
“Someone wise once told me they only come after you if they care for you.”
The words were so familiar, ones Viv had said herself, and a smile threatened to split her face.
But she didn’t know why he was here.
Eliza turned and gathered her sisters, pushing them into the crowd in some sort of sense of privacy. How Viv could find privacy in this crush she didn’t know, but she loved her sister for attempting it.
And then Ryder was there, the smell of wind and road and earth on him.
“I love you,” he said without greeting. “Your brother and brothers-in-law look as though they may toss me from the building, and I want you to know that should I be unable to converse with you further.”
Viv looked behind her. Ryder was correct. Andrew, Dax, and Sebastian were pushing their way through the crowd toward them. At the last possible moment, her sisters stepped in front of them, buying Viv some time, as Jo mouthed the word Run at them.
She didn’t hesitate. She grabbed Ryder’s hand and plunged into the crowd opposite, heading for the doors behind the refreshment tables. Two footmen stood guard there as the doors led into the family rooms of the house, and she didn’t want strays wandering through Ravenwood House.
The footman on the right stepped up to open the door, and she pulled Ryder through, not letting go of his hand until the door snapped shut behind them.
They were plunged into the dimness of the corridor, and they both breathed heavily.
“You got a new cane.” It was the first thing she noticed when her eyes adjusted to the dimness.
“Daniel made it for me.”
He held up the cane for her to examine, and she touched the silverwork at the top of it with a delicate finger before dropping her hand entirely.
“I’m sorry. Did you say you love me?” It was absurd to have this conversation in the dark like this.
“Yes.” He put the cane back on the floor with a sharp ring. “Yes, I did say that, and I do. Love you, that is.”
She pressed a hand to her forehead. Perhaps she’d had too much champagne, but this was not what she’d imagined when she pictured Ryder coming after her.
She snatched his hand again and dragged him down the corridor. The green drawing room was lit only from the moon outside, but she was able to find the candles atop the piano, and soon the room was filled with a soft glow.
She turned, taking in Ryder’s costume now.
“How long were you on the road?”
He was covered in dust, the black of his greatcoat gone murky with clay and soot.
“I left this morning.”
Trepidation raced through her. “This morning? Left where?”
“Margate.”
She took an involuntary step forward. “You left Margate this morning?”
“I did. I borrowed Daniel’s phaeton.” His smile was utterly arrogant.
Fury drove her. It was the only thing for it. She raised a hand, pointed her finger in accusation, and charged at him.
“Ryder, I swear to God if—”
“I promise never to do such a thing again. It was only that I had to see you, and I couldn’t wait any longer,” he said and silenced her with a kiss.
And it was wonderful.
She sank against him, the hurt she’d carried for the past few weeks, the loneliness and heartbreak she’d carried for years, slid from her like a discarded gown. She came up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and hanging on for all she was worth.
But she still had so many questions.
“But why now?” she gasped, pulling her lips from his.
This, however, did not stop him as he trailed kisses along her jaw. “Daniel helped me to see the truth.” He lifted his head. “I’ve loved you for some time now, I suspect. I just didn’t realize it.”
He dipped his head again, his teeth catching at the sensitive spot behind her ear. Her stomach clenched in response, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
“What do you mean you’ve loved me for some time?”
He pulled back and this time he cupped her face in his hands. “Viv, my love, why are you always asking so many questions? I’m clearly not keeping you occupied well enough, am I?”
She tore herself from his arms, stumbling backward until she came up against the piano.
“Oh no. I have questions, and I will get my answers.”
His head tilted slightly, his eyes wandering behind her. “Is that a piano?”
She looked back as if seeing the piano for the first time.
“Yes, but what—”
Her question was interrupted by the sound of the key turning in the lock of the door. She swung her gaze around.
“Weren’t you telling me a rumor about a piano? I seem to recall something about a certain key as it relates to my legendary reputation as a lover.” He’d discarded his greatcoat. It lay on the floor behind him, and his fingers were busy unbuttoning his waistcoat.
She swallowed.
“Middle C. It had to be restrung.”
His coat hit the floor next. “How odd. I think it would take a great deal of—” He shed his waistcoat. “Vigor to accomplish something such as that.”
“You said I was distraction.” The words were much louder than she meant them to be, but the sight of his clothes accumulating on the floor was proving itself a terrible deterrent to her questions.
He was directly in front of her now, and she forced herself to meet his gaze. Even as his fingers unwound the folds of his cravat, and she could see the first curls of chest hair poking from the collar of his shirt, that small dip at the base of his throat where she liked to lick—
“I did think you were a distraction, but I was wrong. You weren’t a distraction at all. I had just never seen love before. I love you, Viv, and I can never tell you how sorry I am to have missed it.” He placed his hands at her upper arms where the edge of her long gloves ended and the sleeves of her gown had yet to start. His touch was cool and sure, and she trembled. “Although you are proving to be quite a distraction in this gown.” He bent and scraped his teeth ever so gently at the base of her neck.
She shivered and reached, grabbing blindly at something to hold her up. Her fingers found muscle and heat through the thin cotton of his shirt.
“How do you know this?” Her voice was becoming strained, and she feared soon she’d be unable to speak.
He lifted his head, and his gaze was direct, his eyes clear.
“Because I realized you are not responsible for the burden of my happiness, my love. Instead, I want to celebrate my happiness with you.”
She searched his face. “What is your happiness then?”
“Having a purpose. Having a reason for being here other than racing phaetons and outdrinking dandies and cads.”
Fear gripped her, but it was tinged with anticipation. He talked once of explorers and travel. Would he leave her now that he’d declared his love for her?
“You’ve found your purpose then.” She licked her suddenly dry lips and watched as his eyes lit at the gesture.
“I have.” He slipped his arms around her until she was snug against his chest. “It’s you.”
She shook her head. “No, I can’t possibly—”
“Be enough?” His laugh was soft. “You are more than I can ever imagine, Viv. More than I ever expected. As your husband, you are my purpose.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “As my love, you are my purpose.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “And as my duchess, you are my purpose.” He kissed her softly on the lips.
She sifted through his words as warmth spread through her. “You’re staying.”
He leaned back and studied her face. “In London? God, I hope not. Too many people. Did you see how many were in your ballroom alone?”
Her lips trembled with a laugh, but she pushed her hands flat against his chest.
“No. I mean…yes. I mean…” She sucked in a breath. “I mean, you’re staying…with me.”
“Of course I am, love. I’m not meant to be anywhere else. I’ll never forgive myself for taking so long to realize it.”
He kissed her deeply now, his hand cupping the back of her head as he tilted her back against the piano. She clung to him, her body pressed against his until she disappeared and only they existed.
Complete.
Whole.
Loved.
“Ryder,” she breathed after some time. “I still don’t understand what it is you plan to do.”
His smile was bright and wide. “We’re going to grow hops.”
She laughed, a burst of wonder and sound. “You got the hops then?”
He shook his head. “My partner has them. We must return to Margate for the planting, but we’ll work the schedule around Johanna’s needs. She seems to be a smashing success if the turnout tonight is any indication.”
He drew her closer against him and shifted until he pressed her down on the bench of the piano, coming to kneel between her spread knees.
“Your partner?”
He nuzzled her neck. “Daniel, of course.”
“Daniel Stoker. The blacksmith? Why would he have the hops?”
He grabbed her face in both of his hands. “Now is not the time for questions, love.”
Instead of kissing her, his head disappeared as she felt her skirts rise up.
Fire sparked deep within her in nothing but a moment, tension coiling low in her belly.
“Ryder.”
His lips first found the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, sucking and nibbling until she nearly slipped off the bench. He wasted no time in moving deeper and soon, oh God, soon his lips closed around her sensitive nub.
“Oh God,” she cried, her fingers clenched around the edge of the piano bench. “Ryder, we mustn’t.”
He either didn’t hear her or he didn’t care. She thought it the latter, but just then, she didn’t care so much either.
His lips and tongue did wicked things to her until she could bear it no longer.
“Ryder, please,” she moaned.
He reappeared in a flash from under her skirts, his hands fiddling at the front of his breeches.
And then he was inside of her, full and hard and hot. He slammed into her, and her body convulsed around him. But he kept going, again and again and again. The tension built until she thought she couldn’t stand it anymore.
Then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “I love you.”
She came apart with the words of love spilling from her lips.